Happy Birthday to Joey!!!

Today is my little nephew's birthday. He is five years old.

I can remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. Sitting with my sister while she labored, and then labored some more to forgive the staff who couldn't get her epi right. Running to our house to meet with the gentleman who was going to eventually sell it to us (it wasn't ours then), and then racing back to the hospital that night.

I was never a baby person. Kids were okay, but the older they got the better. Babies, frankly, scared the bejeebers out of me. I didn't want to hold them...what if I dropped them and broke them?

Joey was different, from the beginning. This child touched my heart like no other. I felt comfortable around him, and I like to think he felt comfortable around me. Well, he didn't cry when I held him, and he didn't squirm or grimace when I changed his diapers, so I took that as a sign that he liked me. That was the other thing: his diapers didn't gross me out.

Joey was the first child who gave me the confidence that I could be a mother. I could care for a child, and not drop her on her head and crack her skull open. I could nurture and care and cuddle and love and I could stop focusing on myself and start focusing on someone else. Because of Joey, I have Zoe.

So, to my adorable nephew on his fifth birthday: I love you so much, I always will, and I will always be thankful for the gifts you bring to my life. Congratulations on being five, little buddy!